Abstract
Tetanus can rapidly develop into muscle spasm accompanied by respiratory failure and result in fatal outcomes. Although the management of muscle spasticity and rigidity is of great importance, there is no consensus on the best treatment modality. Recently, the herbal medicine shakuyakukanzoto has been reported to be effective for the treatment of the muscle disorder in 2 patients with tetanus. Here, we report a comparison of 3 cases of tetanus that were successfully treated with shakuyakukanzoto with 3 cases treated without shakuyakukanzoto. All patients with tetanus presented with neck stiffness, dysphagia, and trismus, and received intravenous anti-tetanus human immunoglobulin and penicillin G with or without the oral administration of shakuyakukanzoto. Improvements in muscle spasticity and rigidity were found only in patients with shakuyakukanzoto, and not in those treated without: the latter needed to be managed with mechanical ventilation. Shakuyakukanzoto may be useful for the treatment of muscle spasticity and rigidity in patients with tetanus.
